Johannesburg, Jan 9 (PTI): South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday said that the ruling African National Congress (ANC) needs to undertake serious reforms to win back the confidence of the public, which gave the party a reduced majority during the local government elections last year.

The ANC came to power in 1994 when the country's first democratic elections were held and Nelson Mandela became the first Black president. However its support has declined in recent years and it has received less than 50 per cent of votes cast in local elections in October, its worst-ever performance at the polls.

Marking ANC's 110th anniversary on Saturday, Ramaphosa struck a sombre note, as he urged party members to stop tolerating indiscipline within the party and turning a blind eye to it.

“We must be forthright in recognising, and deal decisively with, the reality that ANC structures are in a poor state. Many of them are focused on internal organisational conflicts, factionalism and furthering the self-interest of individual leaders rather than the aspirations of communities they are meant to serve,” he said.

“These objective and subjective weaknesses were reflected in the results of the Local Government Elections in November 2021.

“While the ANC received a clear mandate to govern in the overwhelming majority of municipalities, our overall share of the national vote fell below fifty percent for the first time since the advent of democracy, in elections characterised by very low voter turn-out," he asserted.

In recent years, the ANC has been embroiled by in-fighting as allegations about corruption against many of its leaders, sparking huge public outcries.

Many of these allegations have been made at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, including claims that former President Jacob Zuma had facilitated looting of billions of rands by the three Gupta brothers, who are now in self-exile in Dubai as South Africa seeks their extradition.

Zuma is currently appealing a 15-month jail sentence imposed for contempt of court by the country’s highest judicial institutions, the Constitutional Court, for refusing to return to the Commission to testify. Earlier this week, Ramaphosa released the first of three reports to be delivered to him by the end of February by the Commission.

The report has made damning allegations, including recommendations of possible criminal charges, against ANC deployees to a number of parastatal institutions, including national electricity supplier Eskom and rail agency Transnet.

“This worrying confluence of subverting actions is evinced by the blatant acts of state capture and criminality described in the report of the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, the concerted campaign of public violence and destruction that took place in July last year, as well as ongoing acts of wanton theft, destruction and obstruction of vital public and private infrastructure, including communication and logistical networks,” the ANC statement said. “As part of the renewal process, our movement will intensify efforts to eradicate corruption from society and our organisation,” it said, calling for firm action against undisciplined members.

“One of the areas in which the ANC has taken clear action is to require that members who are formally charged with corruption and other serious charges must immediately step aside from all leadership positions in the ANC, legislatures or other government structures pending the finalisation of their matters," the statement added. PTI FH VM VM VM

(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)